Well our school drama is still going on. Many of you know that I have pretty much decided Noah needs to go to school and I need to go back to work. So....we applied to two schools. These are the same two schools that I have said since Noah's birth that are the only two schools he can attend. One is University School of Nashville and the other is Linden Corner School. Two vastly different schools, but both incredible educations. We have been through the assessment and tour of USN and have our LCS assessment next week.

I have been praying daily that Noah get into one of these schools. I am using every New Age visualization technique I can think of. I am meditating on the schools. I have been doing this for couple of months. But, then, after doing the tour at USN I came to the conclusion that it really is not the best place for Noah. This was before we received the response letter yesterday. The night of the tour, Nathan and I watched Boston Legal, the best show on TV. There was a mom suing the public school system for overworking her Senior level daughter resulting in the girl dying in a car crash. Wow. They gave details of Princeton University's new gap year program, offering incoming freshmen the opportunity to take a year off from academics to travel and do volunteer work. No, it's not just TV. It's true. Click here for an article in <a href="http://www.usnews.com/blogs/paper-trail/2008/2/19/princeton-planning-overseas-bridge-year-program-for-freshmen.html">US News. </a> That sealed the deal for me that night. I told Nathan that I just don't think 6 year olds need academics that badly.

So, I switched gears and though LCS had been in my focus, it has become my only focus. All of that was nearly two weeks ago. Fast forward to yesterday. We received a letter from USN putting Noah on the waiting list for the fall 1st grade class. That's fine. That is not to say that we are not impressed with USN - because we are. We just feel that the earliest our kid needs that level of academics is 5th grade, but preferably in 9th grade. For now, let him play and draw and explore.

What will we do if he is wait listed at LCS? Well, I guess we are staying home. Not a problem. We'll know in the next couple of weeks. If he is wait listed there, I am going to attempt to make some money this summer and Noah and I are possibly going to head out West for 3 weeks in August. Stay tuned for more updates on this unfolding story!

Well, it came up again tonight though the "S" word was not used. I was reminded that by homeschooling Noah he would never learn to interact with a variety of people. Hmmm...

Let me see, when exactly would that interaction occur? Would it be when the walk from class to the playground in silence? Would that be in class where they are not talking much because the teacher is leading the lesson? Would that be in the lunchroom when the bell is sounded because the children are too loud? Maybe it would be on the playground where the younger children segregate themselves based on gender. Or, it could be in junior high and high school when they are separated by sports teams, academics, or socio-economic class.

Here's the thing. To assume that Noah will not have that opportunity is making a big assumption about our lives.

Let's just first look at the folks we hang with. We have the usual friends that we see each week that are definitely living in a higher s/e area. Some of them homeschool, some do private school and some are utilizing the public school system (some even teach there). Then, we have our friends who hang more in the land of the middle class. Middle class has a huge range, we have friends all over that spectrum. They drive new cars and old cars, live in their own homes and rental property. They live in modest neighborhoods, old neighborhoods and neighborhoods they probably cannot afford. Then, we know people that I would say are technically lower class in terms of socio-economics. They do okay but do not have college degrees, make much money and biggest ambitions might be to homeschool their kids and grow a garden.

Next, we'll look at religion. Now, ya'll know me. We are pretty liberal in the religion department. We, of course, have our UU friends. They may be liberal Christians, Pagans, Buddhist, what have you. We have close friends (not UU) who are Muslim. We have good friends who are moderate Christians and we have close friends who are evangelicals. So far, so good.

Now, we can talk a little about ethnicity. I'll be really honest. I don't have tons of friends outside of my own race. It's a big joke that white people are always looking for black people to be friends with so we can say we have black friends. The reality is, if you have black friends, great, and if not, well, they probably aren't feeling the loss because a white person isn't hanging with them. With that said, we have friends who are African American, Middle Eastern and of Hispanic descent.

This doesn't even touch on my family. My extended family (cousins, etc.) is very much, well, let's just say definitely different from us. That's not a bad thing, or an insult. Let's just say that if want Noah to interact with some folks who are not like us, then that's as far as we really need to look.

“It's taken for granted in adult society that we cannot all be generalists skilled in every area of learning and mastery. Nevertheless, we apply tremendous pressure on our children to be good at everything. Every day they are expected to shine in math, reading, writing, speaking, spelling, memorization, comprehension, problem solving, socialization, athletics, and following verbal directions. Few if any children can master all of these trades. And none of us adults can. In one way or another, all minds have their specialties and their frailties.” Dr. Mel Levine

Meet Dana

I’m Dana Croy and I am a modern day mama. Balancing family and work is not always easy (not to mention a little self-care). Though being Mama to two fantastic kiddos is a huge part of my life, that was not always the case. I wear many other hats and invite to sit down and find harmony with me.